The invention relates generally to the field of packaging and particularly to a system and method for unscrambling and conveying containers using an unscrambler and chute, both of which have an adjustable channel.
Apparatuses for unscrambling and orienting various articles such as containers in the form of bottles and cans, etc. are well known. For example, unscrambling apparatuses having a fixed track size for unscrambling and positioning bottles and cans are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,295,659; 3,650,368; 4,095,688; 4,148,390; 4,257,516; 4,271,954; 4,463,846; 4,782,939; 4,865,181; 4,928,808; 4,979,607; 5,348,061; 5,358,091; 6,279,722; 6,308,816; 6,502,688 and 6,758,323.
Typically, a plurality of containers to be filled, such as bottles, cans, jars, and the like, having the same size and shape are fed to an unscrambling device where they are unscrambled. For example, in the prior art system, unscrambled containers are fed through a chute having a fixed channel size to an indexing table where they are oriented so that the open ends of all the bottles or cans face in an upward direction and the closed ends face the opposite direction. The bottles or cans thus oriented are transported to a loading station where they are filled with a substance such as pharmaceutical medications, such as aspirin, lotions, ointments, fragrances, foods, drinks, etc. The filled bottles or cans are then capped, labeled and prepared for shipping to the appropriate destination.
Pharmaceutical companies, cosmetic manufacturers and other manufacturers, every year, sell millions of bottles and other sealable containers containing their various products. In order to be competitive in today's market, manufacturers must offer their products in various size containers. For example, almost all over-the-counter pharmaceutical substances such as aspirin, etc. are now sold in various size containers holding from a few tablets to 500 more tablets, depending on the needs and desires of the consumer.
The use of a large number of varying-sized containers to package products poses a particular problem to the manufacturing and packaging industries because they oftentimes used an unscrambler having a fixed track size. The unscrambler fed the bottles to a chute that had a channel that was also fixed. Thus, in order to change from one size container to another, for example, the various machinery, tooling, parts (such as guide arms, unscrambler bowl or entire chute) had to be “changed out” before the machinery could accommodate another size. This change over not only results in additional costs because of the parts and extra man hours needed to convert the machinery, but also results in lost revenue due to the down time.
Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for new machinery and improved system and methods which overcome one or more of these problems.